Why ‘Love, Simon’ is a cliché-bender

Hey Reader!!

I recently watched ‘Love,Simon’ (finally) a 2018 coming-of-age teen-romantic comedy and I’m here to convince you to do the same. Trust me, its not your usual cliché, but rather a very gratifying movie. How many times do you say that about a movie? Read more to find out why.

Sincerely 

Janani Janarthanan

“Sometimes it seems like everyone knows who I am except me.” 

 
―Becky Albertalli, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Imagine.

Imagine walking down the hallways of your popular culture version of an American high school.

Imagine the all the details; the myriad footsteps, the buzz of voices, the hustle of the hallway and the rows of metal lockers.

Now imagine the people in there.

Jocks walking down the hallway, jersey-clad and ball in hand. The metal-mouthed nerds and the short skirt cheerleaders, with their hair perfectly done.  Imagine the high heeled wannabe prom queens, those quiet misfits, and lets even throw in a Breakfast Club Judd Nelson. (cuz who doesn’t love that cult classic)

There are phones buzzing and erupting, friends reuniting, there are couples holding hands….

Wait a minute. Let’s go back to that last bit.

How many of us are guilty of assuming a heterosexual pair as the couple? 

In India, homosexuality was very recently decriminalized. (September 6, 2018 to be precise)  However, the topic has been around long enough. Parts of our society are pretty vocal about it in pride marches and social media. Some of the content we consume is from first world countries where homosexuality has been legal for a while. But then again, this is not an Indian movie. It is an American production where Homosexuality became legal waaaaay before, as did same-sex marriage. Doesn’t that mean it should not be stigmatized anymore? Or is it that sometimes, a change of law doesn’t necessarily translate into a change in our thinking?

Adapted from Becky Albertalli’s Simon. v/s The Homo Sapiens Agenda,  the protagonist in this movie, Simon, has one constant refrain, “I’m just like you.” And that goes back to why he stresses on this. Because for a teenager in high school, being vocal about your homosexual orientation is a step towards being ostracized. 

One of the reasons that truly makes this movie a cliche bender, is its stance that the perfect guy-next-door can be gay and he too,  deserves a great love story. 

The movie also subtly destroys all perceptions we conventionally hold of gay men using the protagonist Simon.   He does not wear tight clothes , talk with an accent or have have effeminate tastes and interests.

(But more importantly as I state these, I wonder, who decided that the aforementioned traits in a guy make him ‘gay.’ )

Simon is not confused nor is he disadvantaged in terms of friends and family. In fact, he has a great friends circle, a very chirpy and supportive family and even an above average ‘popular’ status in school. He is perfect in every sense of the word but guards one secret. The primary struggle for the character is convincing those around him not to change their perception of him and still live his life by his own terms.

What really stands out about Simon for me is that he doesn’t break down mentally. Sure, he avoids those around him, but he is capable of standing up for himself even when he isn’t supported by anyone. He is a complete character who rationally reasons that he deserves a love story just like the next guy.  He ponders over why ‘coming out’ is such a big thing. Its not like straight people have to declare their sexuality to the world and be judged for it.  This argument really stuck on in my mind.

However the movie’s end left me wondering, ‘would it all really end this way?’

True to its genre, it ends on a happy note. But would we really react this way? Would I react and support someone from my friends circle the same way? Even if I did, the society will never see them as a normal person, as just another guy-next-door. Maybe this movie is the ideological stance we want our society to accept. That a happy ending for others like Simon is still within the realm of possibilities.

When you say love story,  we are conditioned to assume ‘a girl meets boy’ situation. It’s not that we don’t understand, its just that we deem foreign that which is different from us.  And some differences more than others earn you a ‘social pariah’ status.  And this movie coming from big name producers like 20th century Fox, is an effort towards normalizing homosexuality.

This movie is a beautiful celebration of love, friendship, family and identity exploration. Like the quote in the beginning of this post, every teenager at some point of their life ponders over who they are. Not all our struggles are about sexual orientations.  Mine isn’t, but I definitely hold back who I am, what I think, and how I feel, in order to be accepted. And there are so many people in our lives who think they know, where we fit. They even make decisions for us. How many times do we ‘come out’ and express dissent?

What I really took from this movie is that ‘coming out’ is not a declaration of who you are, its a sign that you’re ready to live with your choices and differences. To take bold risks, to fall and to rise.

And anyway, someone amazing once said, “there’s nothing like a good mistake to learn from” (yeah no, I think I made that up)

So all those in favour… say ‘Aye.’

Over and out.

As always thanks for dropping by:)